We've got lads who will run through a brickwall for Sittingbourne, says boss Jim Ward

SITTINGBOURNE joint-manager Jim Ward has praised younger brother Danny for winning the race to bring prolific striker Ryan Golding back to the club.



Golding, 21, first joining Sittingbourne in December 2009 and he made his debut as a substitute in a 4-1 win over Corinthian-Casuals the following month.  He still played for the Dartford Academy at the time.

Golding scored 12 goals for Sittingbourne during the 2010-2011 season.

Golding opted to drop down the League’s and signed for Crockenhill during the summer and he came to Danny Ward’s attention after scoring 14 goals in the Kent Invicta League this season.

Golding carried on his impressive run of goalscoring form, scoring two goals in Sittingbourne’s surprise 3-1 home win over Dulwich Hamlet on Tuesday night and the Bourne Park outfit were delighted when the striker signed a one-year contract.

“We beat Dulwich, who have got aspirations of bring title champions and first half we were up against it.  Second half he absolutely slaughtered them. What a great debut from the boy and I’m ever so pleased for him,” said Jim Ward.

Golding currently leads the Kent goaslcoring list and Ward hopes the striker can carry on that form for the rest of the season.

“He’s only scored fourteen in the Kent Invicta League and he’s scored two on Tuesday night, so anybody who’s scored sixteen goals before October he’s obviously got something about him,” said Ward.

“I’m ever so pleased with the performance on Tuesday night.

“We started second bottom and they started in the play-off area and we were 5-1 to win the game.  We’re not bad. If anyone wants to come here and underestimate us they’l l get a shock!

“Going back to Ryan Golding.  Danny has been instrumental in the last two weeks to speak to Ryan and he spoke to the manager. He was happy with the club he was at because he scored a lot of goals. He’s settled there but he’s decided to come and join u and it’s down to Danny.

“The biggest thing of course is that Danny has done the job and done the thing on Ryan Golding.

“That’s a massive signing. We’ve gone and given it a go and he’s proved he can play in the Ryman League so for me I think it’s a great signing.”

The Ward brothers have a reputation of giving players their big chance at first team level.

“We took Shaun Welford out of Dover reserves and we took Dean Hill out of Sittingbourne’s reserves. We’ve taken all sorts of players out of reserves to play for Ramsgate – Lee Minshull out of Sunday morning football.

“You think of all those names.  We really know how to deal with players from a so-called lesser grade.”

Sittingbourne travel to Hitchin Town on Saturday in the FA Carlsberg Trophy First Qualifying Round.

The Canaries lie in thirteenth-place in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier League table, with three wins from their eight games.

Sittingbourne’s surprise win over Gavin Rose’s side has seen them climb up to 12^th place in the Ryman League Division One South table, with 7 points from six games.

“Yes, we’ve done our homework.  Whitehawk beat us 5-0 in the FA Cup and Hitchin beat Whitehawk 5-0 as well in the FA Cup so we’ve got them in The Trophy. They’re odds on we must be a 10-1 shot on Saturday, so we’ll go there and give it a go and see what happens.”

When asked what kind of game he’s expecting, Ward replied, “Difficult.  They’ve got to be red-hot favourites.”

But Sittingbourne will certainly not lie down and die at The Top Field.

Ward said: “We’ve got lads who will run through a brickwall for this club and they’ll do the same on Saturday, so we’ll see how it goes.  It’s a day out for us, that’s what it is.

“Don’t think we’ll be disregarding it, because we’ve already got two grand because we’ve already beaten Burnham in the first round of The FA Cup.

“We’re pleased with that but on the back of that result on Tuesday night we’ll go there Saturday and we’ll give it a go, don’t worry about that.”

Reflecting on their League campaign to date, Ward said: “It’s not a bad start. Remember we’re brand new. There’s only three players left from last season so it’s alright.”

Visit Sittingbourne’s website: www.sittingbournefc.co.uk

Hitchin Town  v  Sittingbourne
The FA Carlsberg Trophy First Qualifying Round
Saturday 29^th September 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Top Field, Fishponds Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG5 1NU